I’ve been thinking for some time now about selling up, due to lack of car knowledge and lack of time for maintenance. There aren’t many garages willing to work on a car if this age.
Such a shame as it’s been in the family from new, (1955) and from when I was a baby my grandma always said the was could be left for me as I was fascinated with it. And here we are now, I’ve barely run the car due to continuously repairing it! Engine reconditioned, entire braking system replaced (by a garage)… I spent just over a week replacing the water pump and hoses, almost 2 weeks stripping and cleaning the carb, and more recently a day trying to start it (possibly down to wrong plugs)
I probably spend a day each year going around the car with the grease gun and oil lubing up everything … but only manage to do about 300 miles a year if I’m lucky (only take it when dry weather forecast!)
You may regret it if you do - what would your grandma think? Remember, these cars are old and things will go wrong and wear out periodically. But there should come a point when most of the things that fail will have been replaced/fixed and you can enjoy trouble-free motoring. The darkest hour is just before dawn!
Bit of a leap into the unknown. I found a fuel leak from the bar which is attached to the throttle. After removing the carb to check the seals I’ve decided to drill out the hole that the bar that holds the throttle disk. I’ve sourced something from a Morris spares site which I just insert into the bored out holes which should stop the leak. If it fails then new carb time. If that faults then the car will probably become a barn find for some enthusiast in the future!!
The throttle spindle. I have noticed when fitted and engine running, slight seepage of fuel from the spindle where it passes though the main body of the carb. On removal of the spindle and disk I can see that the slot that the spindle slides through is brass…so I’m assuming it has already had bushes fitted at some point. Planning on drilling out the brass bushes and fitting the new ones supplied by Burlen?
beavan
Many thanks for the reply.
I would still be looking to ream out the brass bushes in preference to drilling for the reasons I stated in my post above.
Phil
Hi Phil - this is completely off the original topic of spark plugs, but all stemmed from there. I decided to leave them in, refitted the carb will all new seals etc and tuned the car as per instruction that came with the Burlen SU seal kit. The engine did start with the pull knob on first fitting for me to tune. However when I turned the engine off to refit the air filter(I didn’t fancy leaning over the spinning fan to fit it), it now will not start. I managed to start the car with the crank handle through the front bumper and took the car for the spin, the car drives lovey and is now leak free.
I can’t see how I could have disturbed anything that would stop the car from starting? When I turn the ignition on, I hear the pump click, but pulling the starter knob just makes a whirring sound.
As a first off thought the battery has had it or at least on its last legs..
I had a similar problem with my modern recently - the car ran perfectly - dropped my wife off at the hospital - went to start the car - battery flat - managed to get a jump start - car ran well - car into garage - battery tested - found battery shot - battery replaced - car o.k.
Modern batteries tend to fail all of a sudden.
Alternatively, the spiral on which the starter pinion operates may be dirty preventing the pinion moving far enough to engage with the flywheel. Check the battery first, but if this is OK the starter spiral may need cleaning - do not oil as this attracts dirt which can cause it to get stuck again.
Seems likely a discharged/dead battery. Without further tests we can not be sure why. Or if it is recoverable or needs replacing.
Charging system not working? Battery discharged due to an unwanted load? Terminals or ground connections high resistance? Starter motor dead? Starter bendix needs attention/replacement?
First check is battery voltage if a meter is available. Might need to check head light operation, if not.
Nothing insurmountable, for sure. Just need to know what the real problem is, before making expensive/time consuming guesses.
The R just denotes a resistive type of spark plug. You can have resistive plugs or resistive HT leads/caps but not both.
The number denotes the heat range. Confusingly NGK and Champion use heat ranges that are the opposite of each other. Lower numbers for Champion are colder plugs whereas they are hotter NGK plugs.
Start with the standard plugs you quote. Personally I have always liked the NGK plugs but there's really no good reason behind that other than they're usually spot on for the gap.
If the engine is old and worn then using a plug 1 or even 2 heat numbers hotter might help if it has a tendency to foul the plugs. There's only so far you can go with this and the first thing to suspect with sooty plugs is a fuel mixture that is too rich.
Always check and gap the plugs before installation. It is not just an irritating thing that old men go on about, they really do need checking.
Stephen
1969 1098cc Convertible “Xavier” which I have owned since 1989.
As Stephen says, you've got Resistive Plugs fitted, which won't go well with resistive leads.
They're 5 K/Ohm value.
There's a fair chance that the previous owner, unless they went out and specifically purchased Copper Core leads, has fitted regular Carbon Core leads, so worth checking the leads that are fitted.
The original spark plugs for the 1098cc 'A' Series engine were Champion N5. Later the plugs were changed to Champion N9Y which have a more protruding nose/electrode which means that any carbon build up is burnt off the nose/electrode.
Because Champion N5 and Champion N9Y were recommended when leaded fuel was the norm those spark plugs cannot be defined as the absolute correct spark plugs.
All you can do is try a Champion N5 and Champion N9Y and see what the condition of the spark plug is like after a reasonable run (say 10 miles at normal operating temp). The colour of the spark plug nose/electrode should be a digestive biscuit brown after a reasonable run. If of a lighter colour then you will need a colder spark plug as the plug will have been running too hot. If a dark oily colour then you will need a hotter spark plug as the plug will have been running too cold.
All you can do is try different grades of plug to get that digestive biscuit brown.
The spark plug rating and the fuel/air mixture are dependent upon each other and cannot be determined individually.
My own Minor with the 1380cc race engine normally runs NGK BP8E S spark plugs when the engine gets up to working temp or NGK B8EC S spark plugs which is a colder running plug. I also have NGK 7E S spark plugs which is a hotter running plug.
I have a set of NGK B6ES fitted at the moment and the engine runs fine. I do check the colour of a random plug occasionally and after a, say, 10 miles run it's a nice biscuit colour.
I have also used Denso W20ESR-U to good effect.
I buy from a "reputable" source too there are many fake Denso and NGK plugs around from we know where.
I'm not too sure about the latest Champion plugs, eg. N9YC, quality. They don't seem to be capable of printing their name or type clearly on the insulator!
Mervin wrote: ↑Wed Apr 23, 2025 1:58 pm
I have a set of NGK B6ES fitted at the moment and the engine runs fine. I do check the colour of a random plug occasionally and after a, say, 10 miles run it's a nice biscuit colour.
I have also used Denso W20ESR-U to good effect.
I buy from a "reputable" source too there are many fake Denso and NGK plugs around from we know where.
I'm not too sure about the latest Champion plugs, eg. N9YC, quality. They don't seem to be capable of printing their name or type clearly on the insulator!
The Champion ones seem to have very poor control of the gap and always need adjusting straight out of the box. The NGK are usually spot on but I check them anyway. Only really obvious difference is the NGK needs a smaller spark plug spanner.....My engine was a terrible fouler of spark plugs prior to rebuild and I was lazy and tended to fit new ones but keep the old ones to clean up on a rainy day. The rainy day came over winter and now I have a bag of spark plugs probably sufficient to outlast my life expectancy!
Stephen
1969 1098cc Convertible “Xavier” which I have owned since 1989.
